The Nara clan of the Yonggan people have a rich tradition of divination, carried forward by their mantic priesthood. Yonggan diviners, historically practitioners of Yonggan traditional shamanism, have long been sought as counselors in the Earth Kingdom. The Nara tradition of divination was enhanced and formalized through intensive contact with the divinatory traditions of the Central Earth Kingdom during the Ri Dynasty's rule in Ba Sing Se. Mantic priests of the state religion codified these techniques in books such as the Eight Noble Means of Divination. As the Great Ri were also patrons of the Air Nomad religion, Nara divination also incorporates concepts derived from Air Nomad thought.

Plastromancy and Scapulimancy

These arts encompass divination by interpreting the cracks in bones or shells; the shell of the turtle-duck is especially favored and during the Great Ri, the state mantic priesthood even developed a special breed of them for the purpose in Ba Sing Se. With appropriate ritual preparation, the diviner touches the object with a hot metal poker and compares the pattern of cracks formed to tables in a book. Traditional implements include an oil lamp (for heating the poker), and the poker itself. This art is developed from Yonggan traditions, though antecedents are practiced throughout the Northern Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, where it may have ultimately originated.

It is considered most useful for predicting the outcome of future undertakings.

Aeromancy and Meteorology

This art was, unsurprisingly, developed by the Air Nomads, and consists of interpreting weather-related omens and daytime celestial phenomena. Texts contain information about the meaning of cloud formations, wind direction, and so forth. It also encompasses much of what might be considered non-supernatural meteorology. It is considered most useful for predicting the weather (unsurprisingly), the longer-term climate, and agricultural decisions for the coming season. It is also thought to provide useful information about natural disasters, droughts, famines, volcanic eruptions, and the like.

Astrology and Astronomy

Astrology and Astronomy developed to a very high degree under the Great Ri, and continues to be practiced in Ba Sing Se along similar lines today. The mantic priesthood was especially interested in predicting eclipses and celestial convergences which had immediate practical importance for elemental benders. Apart from predicting the motions of heavenly bodies, eclipses, and suchlike, it is thought to be useful for predicting the destinies of nations, empires, and international relations; the individual horoscope was considered useful only for people who were likely to be important to the course of global events. (Indeed, sumptuary laws under the Great Ri governed who could have a horoscope cast for them.)

The mantic priesthood developed mathematics, including trigonometry, with many contributions from Southern Earth Kingdom thought, primarily for making astronomical predictions. However, they also applied it extensively in their geomancy. Astrological divination frequently makes use of diagrams etched on rotating plates, possibly derived from astrolabe workings; the logarithmic principle of the circular slide rule was also invented by the diviners of the Great Ri during the Shenxing reign.

Necromancy

Necromancy is attempting to communicate with the departed spirits of the deceased as their pass through the netherworld on their way to reincarnation. Usually, it is done as part of religious practice with the goal of helping or encouraging the deceased, and trying to ensure they obtain a favorable reincarnation. This aspect of divination is sometimes thought to infringe on the work of mediumistic priests, who were separated professionally from mantic priests during the Great Ri. (Historically, however, Yonggan shamans practiced all of these arts.) That being said, many forms of necromancy do not require a mediumistic gift and so can be used by mantic diviners.

Non-mediumistic Nara priests use scrying pools and crystals to try to see spirits and communicate with them. Usually, messages of a personal or religious nature are exchanged. However, sometimes spirits can be interrogated about secrets known to them, and their advice on earthly affairs sought. Necromancy is thought to be more prone to deception by malevolent spirits than other forms of divination, so the ritual purity and righteousness of the participants is important.

Though similar forms are known in many regions, this form is indigenous to the very earliest stratum of Yonggan shamanism.

Geomancy and Geology

This art is broadly similar to Feng shui, insofar as practitioners use geographical and geological features, their proximity, orientation, and size, to determine auspicious sites for construction. It is also thought to be good for organizing the internal spaces of buildings, the composition of artwork, and even the organization of bureaucratic and family structures by means of codified metaphors. Sometimes, servants and children are shifted among nearby kinfolk households on the basis of "geomantic" considerations. (For example, it is considered inauspicious to have only sons or only daughters in a household, as this would be considered a condition of imbalance; the Nara fondness for eunuch servants was founded not only on practical dynastic concerns, but on their "neutral energy" effect.) Also part of this art is what would be considered proto-scientific geology, i.e. where to build things so they do not fall over when it rains and what kind of rocks are good for construction. Overall, this art is not so much concerned with predicting the future sensu stricto but with ensuring a good outcome through attention to the arrangements of things with respect to each other and the natural world.

These arts were developed throughout the Earth Kingdom; the main contribution of the Nara was to extend geomancy to the organization of the state and household.

Cleromancy and Rhabdomancy

A common form of divination throughout the Earth Kingdom is the use of cleromancy. In an appropriate ritual context (i.e. with the proper invocation of relevant spirits), "random" numbers are generated and referenced against tables in books which give the meaning. Arithmetical operations may be performed to give intermediate results. The numbers are traditionally generated by drawing stalks of yarrow from a cylindrical container and interpreting markings on them, but other means can be used, such as special dice. Numbers that occur in other contexts may be used instead of random numbers, and there are also various tables of characters that can be used to assign numerical values to the names of people or places, purportedly to give information about them. Usually, though, this method of divination is used in an "oracular" fashion; the person consulting the diviner asks a question, and the diviner draws lots to determine the answer to the question. The answers generated by the tables in the books are sometimes rather open to interpretation, and the questions must be rephrased into particular standard forms which may not be as precisely equivalent as hoped.

Historically, this form of divination was first invented and developed by the Gan Jin and there spread to the rest of the Earth Kingdom. It was notably used by the Gan Jin seer of the 15th Earth King to advise his monarch to allow the Yonggan khagan's armies into Ba Sing Se to suppress a peasant uprising. The exchange summarized in the Veritable Records of the 15th Reign and found in more complete form in other surviving court documents, is illustrative of the limitations of the technique:

Of note, Jaikan never ascended the throne in Ba Sing Se, nor did any of his descendants claim the title of Earth King. Jaikan installed his son on the throne, rather than taking it himself, and his son did not rule there as Earth King, but as Emperor of the Great Ri, conceptualizing himself as the ruler of a multi-ethnic empire. It is sometimes insinuated that the diviner in the above exchange had sympathies lying with the Yonggan; he was notably well-treated by the new dynasty.

Abacomancy

This is the interpretation of patterns in dust, sand or other small particulate matter. A table of patterns is used to yield the answers to questions asked by the diviner. It is thought to be most appropriate to questions about secret information, the condition of the dead, finding lost objects or persons, etc. However, practical geological and agricultural aspects - "soil omens" - are also considered part of this art. It is an indigenous Yonggan form of divination.

Physiognomy and Phrenology

This art uses measurements, mostly of size and weight, of the bodies of people and animals to gain information about their destiny, predict their lifespan, etc. The ratios of the numbers are usually the quantities which are interpreted. The field also includes various "bodily omens" predictive of sickness and health; determining the sex of fetuses, whether or not small children will be benders and their expected age at menarche (important for betrothal planning), whether or not wounds will be fatal, etc. Certain measurement ratios are believed to predict personality characteristics, such as trustworthiness. The field obviously touches upon medicine, and is considered useful for healers and herbalists. The art originates from the Southern Earth Kingdom, though it is thought that its roots may go back to the Water Tribes.

During the Great Ri, some high personages of the Imperial family insisted on only trusted eunuchs doing the tailoring for the family, for fear of hostile seers obtaining their measurements and using them in intrigue. The Shenxing emperor was so great a believer in Nara phrenology that he exiled his second son to an Air Nomad monastery on the basis of a large occiput, ostensibly predictive of treachery; he also seriously offended the prince of a tributary state by refusing a concubine on the basis of an inauspiciously-shaped navel and a finger-length ratio that predicted "indulgence." Due to these and other incidents, the prediction of personality traits based on bodily measurements fell out of fashion, but their use in predicting health and lifespan continues with greater success.

Avatar/Nara Divination (last edited 2022-07-17 05:06:18 by Bryce)